Life of the Cursed Children
by Story Junky
Summary: At the age of 4, Naruto begins a journey in life going through the trails of true friendship, deadly challenges, and a destined love that all began when he stumbled upon a strange young girl. N
1. Fateful Meeting

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"_**Flashback"**_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any characters but my OC.

AN: This is my very first story on I hope that everyone who reads it will like it at least a little bit. Anyway enjoy the story.

Chapter 1: Fateful Meeting

Do you believe in the power to make a difference or the power to change other people's view of yourself? A person with enough strength to overcome all hardships or obstacles that comes in front of his path. This is a story of such a person, a person born into a time of when Gods and Demons walk the Earth. A time when samurai and ninja wielded their weapons and fought for honor, pride and justice for their people and country. This is a story of two children who battle all obstacles that come their way, to prove their existence in a world that is ruled by strength and skill, which is key to surviving the ninja way of life.

Our story begins at night in the village of Konoha, a peaceful ninja village that is home to many great ninjas and their families. We see in the deserted street a small boy walking alone who is not much older than 4 wearing the traditional ninja shoes, dark blue pants, a white shirt with the village symbol on the front. His face has a pair of unique lines that looks like whiskers on each side of his face, his hair a bright spiky blond, and finally his eyes are a beautiful ocean blue that are glazed over in sadness and tears. This is Naruto, an orphan boy who lives by himself and is hated for a reason he cannot seem to figure out. Unknown to Naruto, the very reason he is hated dwells within him, the spirit of the cursed nine tail fox demon Kyuubi was sealed inside him as an infant, thus causing him to always be alone.

"Why do they hate me so much?" Naruto asked himself as he walked home from the park. Having no one to play with, all Naruto ever did was sit in the swing and watch as children played with other children or play with their parents.

"What did I do to make them hate me so?" No matter how much he thought about it, Naruto just couldn't think of what he had done to be treated so coldly. He was so distracted with his thoughts he did not see the figure in front of him.

"Watch where you are going you little brat!" said a drunken man in his late 30's yelled. He seemed to have just left the bar and had not left nicely from the sound of it. "Who do you think you are running into me like that!"

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to run into you. I just wasn't paying attention." Naruto could tell that answer only made the man angrier. "You think that is a good excuse. I know you your that monster, maybe its time I taught you a lesson about how to respect your superiors."

"_Not again, please not again."_ Naruto knew what to expect since it happened to him daily. Whether it was day or night at least once he would be beaten up by someone. In the past week he had been to the hospital 8 times, but even then the nurses never really helped him unless the Hokage was with him.

_**Flashback**_

"_**Look at what we got here, a little monster who doesn't know his place." "Let's teach him a lesson."**_

"_**You don't belong here, you don't even deserve to live"**_

"_**Let's see just how breakable he is"**_

"_**Who could ever love a monster like you, you're not even worth looking at"**_

"_**We'll teach you the meaning of fear. Next time we won't be so nice"**_

_**Flashback**_

Some time later…

"That should teach you to mess with me you monster." There in a ball of pain laid Naruto, eyes closed with silent tears streaming down his face which was covered with bruises, cuts, blood and dirt. "Next time you better watch where your going next time." And with that the drunken man stumbled his way home leaving Naruto alone to suffer.

Opening his eyes to make sure the man was gone, he pushed himself up with what remained of his strength and stumbled to the nearest wall surrounded by bushes only to sit against it. With nothing else to do and with no one looking, Naruto cried.

"_Why…why…why?"_ Was all that he could think about as he sat there crying out all the pain and suffering he had endured in his heart. As he cried the wind blew causing the leaves of the bush to shift giving Naruto a glimpse of a hole around his size to show.

"_Where did that come from?"_ Naruto thought as he got up only to grunt with pain holding his stomach where he was sure there were at least two broken ribs. Walking closer to the hole, he couldn't help but wonder where it ended. So with cat curiosity Naruto crawled through the hole just to see where it went to.

Not long after entering Naruto came to the end of the hole and entered into the forest that was outside the village. Never being outside the village walls before, Naruto decide to have a look around before going back. As he walked around he began to notice lots of different things that he didn't before when he was in the village. Like all the different sounds and smells that surrounded him from all sides, and how different the plants and animals were then the ones inside the village.

"_What's that!"_ Ahead of him was a small waterfall clearing surrounded by trees with flowers blooming everywhere and well size rocks surrounding the water where you could lay close enough to the water and not get completely wet.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Naruto couldn't help but be excited at his new discovery. "Since no one is waiting for me it wouldn't hurt to take a quick swim." As Naruto started to strip down a voice suddenly rang out from nowhere.

"**STOP THAT!"** Hearing the yell surprised Naruto so much he ended up falling on his bottom. Quickly getting to his feet Naruto yelled out "Who said that! Show yourself!" After a quick look around Naruto noticed a moving object coming out from behind the waterfall.

A young girl stepped out wearing only an animal skin loin cloth. She was around Naruto's height, with long black hair that covered her chest and had unique eyes of white silver with gold specks. To say she wasn't a beauty would be an understatement, for anyone could tell that as she got older she would turn more into a goddess.

Speechless Naruto could do nothing but watch as she came closer to him. The next thing he knew the girl was in front of him talking to him and waiting for an answer. "I'm sorry what did you say?" " I said, are you lost?" You could tell the girl was a little annoyed at being ignored.

"Well to tell the truth I think I might be, but I didn't think about it until you said something." Naruto nervously laughed with a blush on his cheeks and a hand rubbing the back of head, a sign of nervousness. _"She is so pretty, I have never seen anyone like her before."_

"If you are from that weird looking place with all the people, then you are a bit far from there." "But I can show you the way back if you like." The girl said with complete ease not at all effected by talking to a complete stranger who kept looking at her funny.

"_For some reason, I feel completely at ease around this boy. Like I know he would never hurt me"_ Looking at the boy in front of her, the girl could sense nothing negative in his aura. Never meeting any people around her own age the girl didn't know how to act around him. The only few people she meet were tall and always trying to capture her.

"If it is okay with you can I just stay here for awhile? I really don't want to be by myself right now." Naruto didn't know why he said that but he had a feeling that maybe he had finally found the friend he had always wanted and he didn't want to leave until he found out everything about her.

"I don't see that as a problem, I never seen anyone who looks like me before so it would be nice to talk to you." The girl smiled a bright smile that made Naruto's heart skip and face turn red as a cherry. The girl turned her back to him and walked to the edge of a rock and put her feet in the water. Turning around to see Naruto still standing, the girl padded the space beside her silently telling him to come sit.

Walking towards her Naruto sat down and broke the silence. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, what's yours!" He said with a bright smile on his face with the blush still on his cheeks. "I don't have a name." "What! How could you not have a name, didn't your parents give you one?"

The girl gave him a strange look, "What are parents?" "Eh…parents are grown-ups that are related to you and take care of you when you are baby until you grow up at least I think that is what they do." Again Naruto was rubbing his head, not knowing how to explain it when no one ever really explained it to him.

"I guess I don't have any parents then." "I'm sorry, if it makes you feel better I don't have any parents either so that makes us both orphans." Seeing another confused look flash across her face at the word he explained again. "An orphan is a kid like us who doesn't have any parents or family, which is a group of people who are related to you like your parents are."

"Well at least we have something in common with each other. It must be nice to have a name." The girl gave a sad smile after saying that. Naruto took one look at her sad face and nodded like he just made a decision. "I know why don't I give you a name!" The girl looked at him and smiled, "I would like that very much, please just give me something simple." Nodding Naruto sat and thought about the perfect name.

"I got it! How about San, it's small, simple and easy to say!" Naruto looked at her reaction to see if she liked his choice. "…San…" The name didn't have a bad ring to it, and it was nice and simple like she wanted. Smiling again San nodded, "It's perfect. Thank you Naruto."

A few hours afterwards they talked about many things of what they liked and didn't liked and about their past. Seeing the wounds Naruto suffered San showed him her healing magic that she had but never figured out where she got it from. After Naruto got healed he notice how late it was and was sad to say that he needed to leave.

At the entrance of the hole Naruto had to ask, "Are we friends San?" Surprised at his question, "Of course we're friends! Why wouldn't we be?" "No reason I just wanted to know. Hey, I'll come see you everyday from now on okay!" San was so happy she hugged him as tight as she could.

Embarrassed all over again, Naruto could do nothing but hug her back. "I'll see you tomorrow!" and with that see went back to her home. Smiling so big that his face nearly split in two, Naruto rushed back home and went to bed dreaming of the pretty girl who was his first real friend.

AN: I hope you all like my story. It is my first one so don't be to harsh on me. I will update as soon as I can!


	2. A New Home

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"_**Flashback"**_

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any thing but my OC.

AN: Yeah! My second chapter is up I am so happy(). Anyway I am not sure when Naruto and the other started school but I decided to just start them at 4. If anyone knows what age they really started let me know.

Chapter 2: A New Home

"_How much longer do I have to be here?"_ Anxious blue eyes kept darting from the clock to the teacher and then back to the clock. It has been a few weeks since the fateful meeting between Naruto and San, and life for Naruto couldn't be any better. It is true that he still got beat up by the villagers but now he had someone who actually cared if he got hurt and was there to always heal his wounds.

"_Come on you stupid clock! Move faster!"_ "NARUTO, Pay attention!" With a startled jump Naruto turned his gaze back to the front and tried his best to sit still. Laughing warily with a hand behind his head Naruto said, "Sorry Iruka-sensei I'll pay more attention now." Signing quietly Iruka could only nod his head and went back to the assignment.

Shortly afterwards the school bell ringed signaling the end to another school day for the future ninja's of Konoha. Iruka watched with a smile as he watched his students leave for the day, but when his gaze reached a certain blond hair head he stopped and frowned. It was common knowledge that Naruto always had trouble paying attention in class, preferring to sleep or play jokes, but lately he was so out of focus that it began to make Iruka very worried.

"Naruto could you stay behind for a moment." Surprised Naruto only nodded his head and walked to the front of Iruka's desk.

After the last student left Iruka turned to Naruto, "Naruto is everything okay?" "Of course Iruka-sensei, why wouldn't be?"

"Well, you haven't been paying attention more so than usual so I was starting to get worried." Iruka watched as Naruto smiled one of the brightest smiles he had ever seen him smile.

"You don't need to worry Iruka-sensei I just been busy and there is a lot of stuff for me to do today." Iruka didn't looked convinced but knew that Naruto wouldn't tell him anything more.

"Well in that case I better let you go so you can finish whatever it is that you need to do. Just make sure to pay attention tomorrow okay." With that said Iruka watched as a hyper Naruto ran out of his classroom.

"_I'm still worried Naruto hasn't been acting like himself lately. I think I will discuss this with the Hokage."_ With a nod to himself Iruka set out to the Hokage Tower to inform the Hokage of Naruto's strange behavior.

Meanwhile…

"_I'm late… I'm late, I hope San won't be mad at me!"_ Running as fast as his little legs could carry him, Naruto was racing to the waterfall clearing where San lived. They had been meeting everyday since the day they first met only talking, playing jokes and teaching each other new tricks.

San had a vast knowledge of the forest and made sure to teach Naruto everything there was to know so if he ever needed help all he had to do was call on the forest and Naruto showed San how to read and write. For fear of losing his only friend Naruto never told anyone about San, thinking if the villagers every knew about her they would hurt her as they did him.

"_I'll never let that happen. I will protect San and I'll make sure no one ever lays a finger on her for as long as I live!"_ declared Naruto as he stepped into the clearing.

"There you are! I was wondering why you weren't here at the usual time." San said smiling as she stepped out from behind the waterfall. "Sorry about that, I got held up in class but I'm here now so let's get started." Placing his bag down beside him Naruto opened his bag and took out a book.

"So what are we going to do today?" San asked as she sat beside Naruto looking at the object he was holding in his hands. "Well, I wanted to read you the story of the Fourth Hokage. He was the greatest ninja of them all and someday I will be just like him only stronger." Naruto said as he opened the book, but unknown to the two children they were being watched by a pair of old eyes that showed great happiness before they vanished.

Hokage Tower

No matter how many times he came here Iruka always felt like a child, why he did not know but there was something about this building that seemed so full of knowledge that it would make anyone feel like that. Shaking himself out of his thought Iruka walked the sectaries desk and asked to see the Hokage.

"I'm sorry the Hokage is not in right now can I take a message?" "No I'll just wait for him here thank you."

Only after finishing his sentence the doors opened and entered the Hokage. "Good evening Iruka, I take it that you wanted to see me." "Yes lord Hokage it's about Naruto."

"I see, please come into my office." Following the Hokage Iruka shut the doors and then took a seat in front of the desk. "Now what is it you wanted to tell me about Naruto?"

"Well, for starters Naruto hasn't been pulling any pranks in the past few weeks and while I know that is a good thing it just isn't the way Naruto is and what is even more unusual Naruto pays less attention in class than he usually does. I am worried about him."

When Iruka lifted his head up to see the Hokage's reaction he didn't expect to see a smiling face, a worried face yes but a smiling one no.

"Is that all you have to report Iruka?" "Yes lord Hokage" Iruka said still stuned. "Well you can be rest assured that there is nothing wrong with Naruto", said the smiling Hokage.

Iruka continued to look at him hoping for an explanation. "Naruto it seems has made an interesting friend and has been visiting her everyday for the past few weeks. Like you I too began to worry after seeing his weird behavior and I decided to find out what could have happened to him. So I followed and discovered that he found a way to sneak outside the city walls and get into the forest. In a clearing that is a bit far from here he meets a little girl around his age and has been teaching her how to read and write."

"_A friend, all this time he has been seeing a little girl."_ Having nothing to reply Iruka just sat there thinking. "What are we going to do? Naruto cannot continue to go outside the city walls it is too dangerous for him and the city. Any enemy could follow Naruto and sneak into the city."

"Yes I have thought of that and I have come to a decision that will be carried out tomorrow. For now do not worry I intend to meet Naruto and his friend to have a talk I will inform you about what happens afterwards."

"Yes lord Hokage, thank you." With a solute Iruka turned and made his way home thinking about these new turn of events.

---Next Day---

"_Another beautiful Saturday"_ Thought the Hokage as he waited by the wall for Naruto to come. There was no school today so Sarutobi thought he would get here early to catch Naruto before he went through the secret tunnel. It was morning and everyone was waking up from a long peaceful sleep. Sarutobi figured after seeing Naruto's expression yesterday that he would be here early. _"He should be here any minute now."_ After finishing that thought Sarutobi looked up and saw a speeding body heading his way.

Just as Naruto came close to his secret exit he noticed a tall form standing next to the bushes that covered the tunnel. There stood the Hokage with his hands behind his back and dressed in his Hokage attire. With a nervous gulp Naruto walked closer with caution fearing the reason the Hokage was standing there.

"Good morning Naruto I have been waiting for you." The Third said with a gentle smile on his face. "I have something very important to discuss with you and your little friend."

Surprised at hearing this statement Naruto began to feel a speck of fear in his stomach. "How do know about San?" he asks as he walked towards the Hokage. _"Damn it, I was sure that no one noticed me sneaking out of here or when I was walking in the forest."_

"I was worried about the way you were acting so I decided to investigate, only to find out that you made an interesting new friend." Seeing Naruto's fearful expression Sarutobi only smiled and tried to ease his fears. "Do not worry Naruto, I only want to talk to both of you about something. Why don't we take a shortcut to the clearing then we can sit down and have our talk okay." With a small nod from the child Sarutobi picked him up and speed over the wall and through the forest.

A few minutes later Naruto finds himself in front of the clearing with the Hokage stand by his side. They walked into the clearing and waited for San to appear, _"Where is she? Usually she comes out as soon as I get here."_

"Naruto is that you?" Turning around to face the waterfall pond he sees a small head sticking out from behind one of the large rocks that laid half submerged in the water.

"Yes it's me San. Sorry I took so long but old man Hokage wanted to come and meet you." Naruto saw how nervous she was so he smiled and slowly walked towards her. He helped her out of the water and brought her to stand in front of the Third, who was watching the scene with great interest.

Sarutobi could tell that this girl was special as soon as he saw her. She had an aura of pure innocents and had eyes that glowed with great wisdom and knowledge that a four year old should not have. Before he could study her more, Sarutobi noticed her starting to become nervous and decided to ease her fears.

"So you are San, it is nice to finally meet you." The Third said as he bent down to her level to shake her hand. "Naruto has been disappearing a lot lately and I was wondering why that was but I can see why now." Sarutobi said with a soft smile on his face.

Sensing no evil from the man San smiled brightly at him and reached out to shake his hand. "Hello old man Hokage, Naruto told me a lot about you. That you are the boss of the village and that you have a perverted orange book hidden in your top drawer in your desk and all kinds of other stuff."

"_How did he know about that!"_ Sarutobi only shake his head deciding to investigate later on how Naruto even got in his office. "Well why don't we get down to business, I came here today to talk to you both about something very important."

"As you know since I am the Hokage it is my job to make sure that no harm befalls on our village. I must do whatever I can to make sure that no one can get in or out of our village without us knowing, so I have come to the decision to cover up the hole Naruto has been using to get out of the village." Sarutobi paused here and waited for the coming outburst, he did not have to wait long.

"WHAT! You're pulling my leg old man. If you do that then I won't be able to see San anymore. You can't do it I won't let you." Naruto said all this with a look of determination.

The Third only smiled, "I knew you would say that Naruto and I don't plan on separating you from your friend that is the reason for me visiting today." All he received was a confused face. "Let me explain, I was thinking that if San were to live in our village then you wouldn't need to use that hole for you would have no reason to go there anymore."

"That would be great old man, I would get to see San whenever I wanted to! What do you think San?"

The said girl remained quiet through the whole conversation, just watching and absorbing everything that was being said. After thinking about all she had heard she finally gave her opinion, "If I was to live in the village where would I stay? I doubt I would be able to live with Naruto."

"Well my plan was to adopt you as my daughter if you decided to live in our village. My wife and I always wanted a girl of our own, but we ended up only having two boys. Now that my wife is gone I thought I would never have a daughter, but you do remind me a bit of my wife and myself when we were young. So what do you say San, would you like to live with me?"

San took a minute to think about his offer. _"If I don't accept his offer I'll never be able to see Naruto again, but if I do accept his offer I'll half to leave the forest and live around humans which from what I have seen not all of them are trustworthy. This man the Hokage looks trustworthy and I can see that he really does care."_

As the minutes went by Naruto was beginning to think that she would refuse until she finally spoke. "All right, I will come and live in the village with you but under one condition."

"What would that be?" The Third asked with a gentle smile, for he was happy to help Naruto keep his friend and to be given a chance to finally have a daughter of his own.

"I want to be able to see Naruto whenever I want to, does that sound okay." The Third just nodded his head showing that he had no problem with her request. "Before we leave let us get to know each other a bit more." Sarutobi sensing that this would take some time decided to sit on a tree stump that near him.

For the next few hours San told the Hokage everything there was to know about her. How she could do magic like flying to making things appear out of thin air. What really caught his attention was her ability to fight and call forth demons.

"So you are telling me that you know all the fighting styles that exist and have mastered them all!" The Third practically yelled from shock. San nodded her head at him. Sarutobi could not believe the abilities this child had within her. _"She holds great power that surpasses my own, not only does she know every jutsus known in the ninja world but she has mastered them and all marital art styles known to man."_

"I do not know why I can do these things and I never really left the forest except when I moved here. I was raised by the demons who rule the Ancient Forest that is in the center of the Abandon Mountains."

"That is quite far from here. It would take about a month to get from there to here. Tell me why did you leave the forest?"

"I was forced to leave because humans started coming into the forest and they seemed like they were only after me. They destroyed everything in their path and kill whatever got in their way. The demon leader told me to leave the forest and wait in hiding for a couple of weeks then to come back. When I left I was away for 3 weeks before I returned to the forest. Unfortunately the day I returned so did the humans, having no choice I left to keep the forest safe and that is how I got here."

"I see, I am sorry for your loss and I hope that you can find a new home in our village." The Third said as he smiled at her with kindness. San couldn't help but smile back at him, _"I think I have found my new home."_

"Hey old man I think we need to get back to the village, it is already past noon." Naruto said as he pointed at the sky. The Third looked up and noticed he was right, they had been talking for quite awhile now.

"_Looks like I will have more paperwork than usual to do tomorrow."_ Sarutobi let out a tired sigh as he thought about the downside to being Hokage. "Well, why don't we head to the village now? San is there anything that you need before we go?" The Third asked as he stood up and dusted off his cloths.

San thought for a moment before jumping up and running into the cave. Moments later she stepped out carry a small brown pouch. "I'm ready!" San yelled as she ran towards them.

Picking up both children the third raced back towards the village listening to their conversation. After a few minutes of running they saw the village gate come into view, slowing down in front of the gate Sarutobi gently set the children down and walked towards the entrance.

"Lord Hokage we didn't know that you were out here, the council has been looking for you all day. Who is that you have with you?" The guard asked as soon as the Hokage cam into earring range.

"This is San, she is going to become a member of our village and my adopted daughter." The Hokage said placing a hand on top San's head.

"Where did you find her?" The guard asked while he his gazed turned to the strange girl in front of him. "I didn't find her Naruto did, apparently Naruto found away to sneak out of the village where he met up with his new friend."

The guard switched his gaze to the silent boy that was standing next to the girl. He was holding her hand and seemed to be guarding her. "Well we must go it has been a long day for us."

Lightly pushing the two children in front of him they all walked into the village and went to drop Naruto off at home. "Come on old man can't I stay with San, please!" Naruto begged, he didn't want to leave his friend alone inside the village for he feared that she would be hurt by the people in the village that had always hurt him.

"She will be fine Naruto, you can come to see her tomorrow and spend the day together, I promise." The Third said trying to calm the child with no success. Seeing the problem San quickly went to the rescue. "Don't worry about me Naruto I will be fine, I can beat up anybody that tries to hurt me. Plus I have the Hokage with so no one will try anything. Goodnight." After finishing San leaned over and kissed Naruto on the cheek making him go stiff and his face turning red.

Placing a hand on his cheek Naruto only nodded his head and went into his apartment to shocked and embarrassed to say anything. Sarutobi could hardly hold in his laugh as he watched the scene play out in front of him. That was the first time he had ever seen Naruto quiet and it was all over a kiss on the cheek.

"_It looks like someone has a crush."_ The Third gently grabbed San hand and lead her to her new home. Smiling the whole way San couldn't but think, _"I think I have finally found my true home."_

An: I know I am not the best writer in the world but I hope that you enjoyed the story. I will be trying to update as soon as I can so bear with me. Thanks again for reviewing my story.


	3. Sorry Notice 2

Dear readers,

I am so sorry that it is taking me forever to type the next chapter. I finally have time and for some reason the file that holds the next chapter is not working. It won't open so until I can fix the problem please be patient with me. I will finish this story even if it kills me!

With much love and thanks

StoryJunky


	4. A Growing Love

"Talking"

"_Thoughts"_

"_**Flashback"**_

Dream

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any thing but my OC.

AN: I am so sorry it took so long to update but with school and then losing my file well things got a bit difficult. Anyway I hope that you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3: A Growing Love

* * *

Dream

The sounds of screaming and yelling filled the air, shinobi were scattered around the area, some dead and some alive. The ones that were standing had an intense look of determination in their eyes that showed no signs of backing down or running away, only the will to fight and protect what was most important to them. The surrounding area was a forest that had turned into a deadly battle field, trees where destroyed along with the very ground they stood upon. "Stand your ground we must wait for the Fourth Hokage" yelled a shinobi to the tired shinobi that stood around him. "Squad A through D use whatever jutsu you know to slow down the target"! With a quick hai they went into action surrounding the target and carrying out their orders.

He stood there watching as one shinobi after another were hit and tossed away and more coming to fight what seemed like a hopeless battle. He watched as they fought and died, trying to understand what was happening around him only to be even more confused. He couldn't understand why they were fighting, why they weren't moving, and why he was even there. Suddenly the scenery changed, he was in a dark room now that was lite only by a circle of candles. He felt himself being carried and when he looked up to see the figure's face all he saw was a face that was half covered by shadows. The mouth and chin were all that was visible to him, making it impossible to identify the figure.

He was set upon a large pillow in the middle of the room with the candles surrounding him in a large circle. Unable to move he could only watch as the figure took out a kunai to cut its finger. With the wounded finger the figure began to draw something on his stomach all the while chanting something under its breath. Seeing how he could not understand what the figure was saying he concentrated on trying to see the face of the one before him. From what he could see it was a man better yet a shinobi that was medium height wearing a long jacket over the shinobi uniform.

As he continued to study the man his eyes drew back to the shinobi's still covered face and to be surprised to see tears falling from the shinobi's chin. Confused as to why a shinobi of all people would be crying, he continued to watch him trying to figure out yet another strange mystery. The man had finished his chanting and now stood in front of him, watching him as though he was trying to gather the will power to do what was next. Suddenly the man began to speak, surprising him more since he was the first person to actually talk to him since the others had not. His voice was deep but light enough for one to tell that this man was one that usually was smiling and laughing, but was now full of the deepest pain and sadness known to any human.

"I am about to do something that I wish with all my heart that I didn't have to do but there is no other choice. If I had the power none of this would be happening but alas I have no regrets for this is for the good of the village. I hope that you learn to forgive me for what I must do and for leaving you alone in this world. Once this task is done there will only be pain and sadness for no matter how much faith I put in them, I know that the village will not acknowledge my words that I leave behind. But remember these words that I speak to you little one."

"You are a hero to this village, no matter what anyone says to you never doubt yourself at anytime. You will grow strong and will prove to the world that you are worth seeing and worth being acknowledge in the eyes others. You will be acknowledged, respected and above all else you will be loved. Grow and become the strongest shinobi that has ever graced this world." With that said the shinobi leaned over him and lightly kissed his forehead.

Slightly leaning back the shinobi began to whisper something only for the scenery to change again. He was still in the same room as before but was now all alone, the shinobi gone and the sound of the battle outside growing in volume. In front of him was a balcony that stood with its doors open and a light breeze flowing into the room. All of the sudden there was a loud roar and a flash of bright light. As the light faded away he could see something heading towards him, what it was he could not be sure.

As it got closer he could see it was a large ball of red light and with one blink of his eyes the ball was suddenly in the room looming over him. As it floated above him he could sense a large power coming from it, a power that was so strong it made the room unbearably hot. Slowly he reached out his hand to touch the ball only snatch it back as the ball began to move at a wild pace. It moved as though something was trying to free itself from the inside but failing miserably. The ball stilled once more and started to shrink in size, it was now the size of a fist and after it finished it struck into his stomach.

The pain he felt was unbearable as though someone was stabbing him through the stomach and burning him from the inside. He yelled out in pain hoping for someone to hear him and come to his rescue but no one did. The room around him vanished and he was now surrounded by darkness. No matter where he looked there was endless nothingness and not knowing what to do he continued to search for anything that was living. All of the sudden he felt breath on the back of his neck, slowly he turned and looked up to see giant blood red eyes glaring at him with unconcealed hatred. Once he looked into its eyes he opened his mouth to scream and heard words from the distance. _Be strong Naruto Uzumaki my….._

Dream End

"AAAHHHHHH" screamed Naruto as he jerked awoke from his nightmare. Looking around he calmed when he realized he was still in his apartment and that he only had a nightmare. Taking a slow deep breath Naruto relaxed his nerves and did the breathing exercises that San had taught him over the past few days. Thinking of San brought a smile to his face, as of today it would be one whole year since he had first met San in the forest. He had planned of full day of fun and adventure for the both of them as a way to celebrate.

Smiling brightly Naruto got up and started to get ready for the day practically bouncing with excitement at the thought of all the fun San and him would have. After finishing his daily morning routine Naruto walked over to the corner of his room, bent down and lift a piece of the floor board out revealing a hidden compartment that held all of his most precious possessions inside. Reaching in he pulled out a small hand held box no bigger than his hand. Lifting the lid his eyes fell upon a simple necklace, no one would think it to be special until they really looked at it. The strap was a plain black leather strip that someone could find anywhere, but what the strap was tied to was what would catch any body's attention.

Tied at the center of the necklace was a medium sized tear shape clear crystal that when it hit the light it would shine all sorts of colors. Naruto smiled fondly as he remembered how he came across the crystal.

_**Flashback**_

**_It had been 1 month since San began living in Konoha as the secret adopted daughter of the Third Hokage and ever since then her and Naruto have been inseparable. You would never see one without the other not to far behind. Whenever the two were out walking in the village people would stare and whisper about them when their backs were turned. They had never seen this strange girl before and couldn't figure out what clan she came from. One thing was for certain, the girl was not normal and because of how she looked and who she hanged out with, the villagers decided the girl was too much like the fox demon child to be trusted._**

**_They treated her just like they treated Naruto though sometimes worse since she was a girl. None of it bothered San, she would just smile at Naruto and continue with what she was doing as if nothing had happened. Since they could never play with the other children their favorite pass time was to explore the village from every nuke and cranny they could find. This day they were exploring the rocky mountain that held the four Hokage faces on it. They were not to far up from the ground and were walking very carefully on a small ledge walkway._**

"**_HEY NARUTO-KUN! I SEE SOMETHING UP A HEAD!" yelled San turning to look at the boy behind her. Naruto raised his head and looked in the direction her finger was pointing at, to see a small cave like opening that was covered by bushes and the small trees that grew on the side of the mountain. If someone was to look at the mountain from the ground or straight at it in the front, no one would see the cave entrance. Interested Naruto and San walked over to the opening and observed it, making sure it was safe. The opening was a decent size, the average size adult would have to bend down and crawl through to get inside it._**

"**_Well what do you think, should we go in and investigate?" Naruto asked with a sly smile on his face turning his face towards her to see her expression. "Got to, otherwise it wouldn't be much fun now would it!?" San said who was also sporting the same smile as Naruto. With that said they walked in keeping an eye out for anything interesting and worth looking at. For several minutes there was nothing but darkness everywhere you looked, but being the different children that they were Naruto and San could see well enough not to worry about a thing. The tunnel was just a straight shot and as they continued to walk Naruto was starting to get fed up with it._**

"**_This is stupid!! We have been walking for who knows how long and we haven't found a single thing worth looking at!" raged Naruto who continued to vent afterwards. As he continued to complain, San stopped and squinted her eyes at something not to far up ahead. "Hey Naruto-kun, do you see that?" San asked still looking ahead, when she didn't get a reply she turned towards him and saw that he was still complaining and had not heard a word she said. Rolling her eyes San knocked him on the head and repeated her question this time with him actually listening. Curious they walk further until they entered the end of the tunnel, what they found amazed them._**

**_Inside was a cave like room that was full of crystals that glowed from the light that came through a small hole opening near the top of the room. "Wow!!! This place is so cool!!!" San said as she walked further into the room spinning around so she could see everything around her. "No kidding! I didn't think a place like this was even here, it is way better than all the other things we have found." Naruto agreed as he followed San into the room. After awhile they decided it was time to go but from then on this place would be their secret base that was for them and them alone. As they were leaving Naruto glanced down and notice a few loose crystals on the ground, looking up to make sure San wasn't looking Naruto quickly reached down and picked one up and into his pocket then rushing out after San._**

_**Flashback End**_

After that Naruto started saving his money so he could get the crystal shaped and made into a necklace for San. It took a good while but he was finally able to do it and with the help of the Hokage he was able to have it ready for San and just at the right time too. To Naruto San represented everything he had ever wanted a friend and family, but as of late he had started getting weird feelings when ever she was around. Not knowing what these strange feelings were Naruto asked old man Hokage, trying his best to describe what he was feeling. Once he was done Naruto looked up at the Hokage's face and saw a smile that was full of understanding.

The Hokage patted his head and told him what he felt was love, the kind that makes people marry and spend the rest of their lives together. It was rare for a children their age to be in love but not impossible and that there was nothing wrong with him to feel what he feels. At that moment after all the confusion was gone Naruto had started making plans for this day, the day when he would finally tell San how he felt. Sticking the present in his pocket Naruto took a deep breath and walked out his of apartment and headed for the ramen shop to meet San._ "I hope this works. Please let this work."_ Naruto prayed as he continued on down the road.

Hokage Tower

Sarutobi was sitting in his office smoking his pipe taking a small break while listening to his daughter playing the piano on the other side of the room. Being the Hokage he was given two offices, the first office was at the very top of the building and was used for everyday things, while the second office was a hidden room right above the first office that was only used for emergency meetings like when the nine-tailed fox demon attacked the village. The first office was filled with scrolls, maps, pictures, paintings and of course the piano and violin. After he adopted San he had decided since he couldn't teach her fighting he would teach her anything else that she would be interested in. When he asked her he was surprised when she said music and politics.

_**Flashback**_

"**_San could you come here for a moment." Sarutobi called out to her from across the room. With San not going to ninja school like Naruto, she spent her time in the Hokage's office trying to pass the time by reading, drawing or training until Naruto was out of school. "What is it Papa Hokage?" San asked once she reached the desk standing at his side. "I have noticed that you have been bored lately and since I can't have my little girl bored I was wondering if there was something you would like to learn?" Sarutobi said leaning down to pick her up and set her on his lap like so many other times. San thought for a moment, "I would like to learn two things, 1.) I want to learn music and 2.) I want to learn politics." She said in a no room for discussion voice._**

**_Sarutobi sat there in surprise for a moment then busted out laughing, San could not see what was so funny and was starting to get very ticked off. Noticing the look on her face, Sarutobi got himself under control before he began speaking. "What made you want to learn those things?" He couldn't help but ask. "When Naruto-kun and me were out yesterday I heard this strange sound, so I asked Naruto-kun what it was. He took me to the sound which turned out to be coming from these things the people were holding. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it." San finished staring at him._**

"_**Understandable but what made you want to learn politics?" He asked very curious of what her answer would be. "Well, I notice that when those people that work in offices like you do come here that there is only a few females in the group when I asked why the old men told me it is because women don't belong in politics. I got real angry so I want to prove them wrong!" she said with a determine look in her eyes. Sarutobi sat watching her and could not feel more proud, **"It would seem that my daughter is someone who loves to show people their wrong."** He thought as he started to make arrangements for her future tutors. **"I wish them luck, they are going to need it to survive San."** He last thought with a silent chuckle.**_

_**Flashback End**_

It did not take long to find a music tutor and as he predicted San swept through it like a genius. For what took years to learn she had only accomplished in three months, trying only the instruments that sounded good to her. In the end she learned how to play the piano, the violin, different flutes and the guitar. Sometimes Naruto would stay and listen to them practicing when San had wanted to stay a bit longer, it was a good way for her to learn how to play in front of people. When the lessons were over, San would switch over to politics.

Politics were taught by himself, for who would be better to teach her than the Hokage leader of the entire village. Politics took San a bit longer to figure out but she got the idea of it sooner than some. When she was not playing any music she was helping him with his paper work which was like a gift from Kami in Sarutobi eyes. The loads of paper work he had to do was the down point in being the village leader. But when San began to play her music the tension and stress was more tolerable.

Sarutobi smiled with his eyes closed listening to San play as he remembered that today was day when Naruto first met San in the forest. A meeting that would trigger many other meetings along the way. When he had first brought her to her new home he had taken her to her new room to rest while sent out letters to his sons to invite them over for dinner the next night saying that he had a surprise for them. Unfortunately, only his youngest son Asuma was able to come while his eldest had been sent on a mission earlier that day when he was with Naruto and would not be back for a week. Asuma thought nothing of the invite and Sarutobi laughed to himself as he remembered Asuma's face when he arrived.

_**Flashback**_

**_He was sitting behind his desk filling out his oversized paper work when he heard a faint knock at his office door. After giving permission he saw a tiny head poke itself from behind the door. Smiling Sarutobi ushered San in with his hand and watched as she walked slowly to him in an oversized black t-shirt that came down to her knees which ended up covering her black shorts. Apparently San had a thing for black cloths since that was all she bought the whole day they were shopping for her. They had left early to pick up Naruto and only bought 10 pieces of cloths that were all black and some furniture. San was defiantly different from other girls who would have bought out the whole store._**

"**_Papa Hokage is it time to eat yet? Naruto-kun and I are getting hungry." San asked as Naruto walked through the door to stand beside her. "Yea old man! I haven't eaten since lunch!" Naruto said with his hands behind his head in a relax pose. Behind them a servant announced that dinner was ready and Asuma had just arrived. "Well great timing, let's head to the dinner table now." Sarutobi took their hands and lead them to the dining hall._**

_**As they arrived they saw Asuma already sitting at the table with his usual cigarette in his mouth. "Hi Asuma-sensei!" Naruto said loudly in greeting rushing over to him and gave his knee a quick hug before climbing into his own seat. "Hey brat I see you are the same as always. Hey Pop this wasn't your surprise was it? Cause Naruto-kun eats with us almost every night." Asuma asked starting to look at his father before noticing movement be his side. Blinking in surprise at the little girl that was slightly hiding behind his father's legs Asuma looked to his father for an explanation. Smiling down at the shy child Sarutobi picked her up and brought her in front of his son.**_

"**_Asuma I would like you to meet your new sister San, San I would like you to meet your new big brother Asuma your other brother could not be here tonight." Sarutobi said placing her in front of him and leaving his hands on her shoulders. Asuma could only blink at the child before the news finally settled into his brain. Seeing San becoming nervous Asuma smiled down at her, "So I finally get a little sister it's a bit late but oh well. Hello San its good to meet you!" San having now known who the person in front of her was she smiled and jumped in his lap to give him a hug._**

**_Asuma returned her hug and watched as went to the other side of Naruto and began eating stopping to talk to Naruto. Placing himself next to his son at the head of the table he turned to him, "So what do you think of my surprise?" "Well it defiantly wasn't what I was expecting but not to bad. Where did you find her?" Sarutobi began telling him everything from how San was found to what she could do. Asuma and San talked as well getting to know one another. At the end of the night as Asuma was leaving he hugged Naruto and San and called San his little tori (bird), when she asked him why he said it was because of her flying._**

_**Flashback End**_

After that night Asuma had switched to over-protective big brother mode that seemed to never switch off expect when San was looking at him. His older brother was the same way, but he was less violent than Asuma was when it came to San. Sarutobi had asked Asuma why he never acted like that in front of San he said, "I don't want to give my little tori a bad impression of her big brother." Which in the end it turned out to work, besides ninja missions San thought her brother could do no wrong when he was in the village until someone had mention about boys going after her when she grew up. Not knowing that San was behind him Asuma described exactly what he would do only to stop when he heard laughing coming from behind him.

It was not long after that that the head clan leaders heard about San and her special abilities. From the Hyuuga clan to the Uchiha clan, they all came with the demand of having San betrothed to their sons or nephews. Even the Kazeage from the sand village came for San's hand in marriage to his youngest son Gaara. But Sarutobi had only shaked his head at them saying it would be up to San and San alone. San had agreed that to who ever beaten her in a fight she would marry their son, every opponent was defeated and only by a 4 year old girl.

Sarutobi snapped out of his thoughts when the music had stopped playing, turning his head he watched as San ready herself to leave and meet Naruto at the ramen shop. "Well papa Hokage I'm going now." San said with her usual bright smile on her face. "Have fun and don't by to late getting home." Sarutobi said as he kissed her on the head in good-bye. "Don't worry I will be back on time! See ya later!" San yelled backed as she rushed out of the door. _"Good luck Naruto, I hope your plan works."_ he thought before getting back to the dreaded paper work.

Ramen Shop

Naruto couldn't help but be nervous as he waited for San to arrive to have ramen with him before they left to follow Naruto's plan for the day. Ayame the daughter of the Ramen shop owner, watched as Naruto kept looking from the clock on the wall to over his shoulder to looking at his hands where he kept fiddling with his fingers only to start all over again. Smiling she went up to him and gently placed a bowl of ramen in front of him snapping him out of his daze. Looking at the bowl to Ayame his expression asked why she gave him that.

"You seem a bit nervous and I know the only thing that can make Naruto Uzumaki feel better is ramen! So eat up it's on the house!" Ayame finished cheerfully. Smiling gratefully at her Naruto picked up his chop sticks and began eating already starting to feel better. In recorded time he was finished and once again he was nervous, he was so focused on being nervous that he missed seeing Ayame sit down next to him. "Naruto-kun what is wrong? I have never seen you so nervous before." Ayame asked after sitting down beside him. With a jump Naruto snapped his gaze to her and tried to calm his breathing before he answered her.

"I guess I am a little nervous. Today is me and San's anniversary of when we first met each other and became best friends." Naruto said trying to sound casual but failing. "That's wonderful news! But what are you so nervous for?" Ayame asked slightly confused. "Today I'm going to ask San-chan to be my girlfriend." Naruto stated cutely. With a squeal Ayame reached over and squished Naruto in a big hug and gained the attention of her father.

"Ayame dear I don't think Naruto-kun can breathe." Her father said laughing at them. Blinking a couple of times Ayame looked down to see Naruto's face slightly blue. She quickly let go and apologized with a blush and a smile on her face. "Now Ayame, what has you so excited?" Her father asked with a small smile. "Naruto-kun is going to ask San-chan to be his girlfriend, isn't that so cute!" She finished with another squeal.

"Well then I guess since this is such a special occasion all your ramen will be on the house." He ended with a small laugh. "Really! Cool, thank you but…" Naruto paused, "What if she says no?" He finished with a depressing voice. "Don't worry Naruto-kun, I know she will agree." Ayame said smiling in comfort, "Besides who could refuse an adorable face like yours." She said pinching his cheeks and placing a kiss on his forehead. With his confidence returned Naruto smiled at them and nodded his head in thanks. With one last kiss on the head Ayame returned to the back to help her father cook the ramen.

Not five minutes later San walked into the shop and greeted Naruto who saw her approaching. "So what fun stuff are we going to do today Naruto-kun?" San asked as she placed herself next to him on the booth. "Well I thought we could go play some cool new tricks I thought of on Mr. Taki, you know the one who yelled at us for walking to close to his house. Then I thought we could go to our secret base and play around there for a bit then maybe train. Later we could go to your house and play some there since I have a feeling that the jonins are going to get us sooner or later." Naruto looked to her to see what she thought of the plan.

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" San shouted with excitement. Sensing that now was the time Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out his present, Ayame and her father stopped to watch what would happen. Taking a deep breath Naruto spoke, "San-chan." "Yes Naruto-kun?" San asked looking puzzled. "I got you a present, I hope you like it." He said gently handing it to her.

Looking down at the gift San said thank you and started to open it. "Wow Naruto-kun it is so pretty! Is it from the secret base!?" She asked holding it up in the light. "Yea, I took a piece when we left the first time we found it. So do you like it?" Naruto was holding his breath as he waited for her answer. "Of course I do silly! What made you think I didn't." San said with a laugh and began to put on the necklace.

"Wait! Before you put it on I have something to ask you." Hearing the serious tone in his voice, San set the necklace down in front of her. "San-chan I have really liked you since the first day I meet you and over time began to love you, so I am asking if you would be my girlfriend?" Naruto was looking at her with a blush on his face that was so red he looked like a tomato.

All was quiet and everyone waited for her answer. After a while Ayame and her father started to get nervous and Naruto began to get scared. Finally San handed back the necklace to Naruto, who took it with a broken heart. "You know, when you ask a girl to be your girlfriend and she hands you back the necklace. You're supposed to place it around her neck and kiss her cheek for accepting." San finished with her back facing towards him, making it impossible for him to see her smile.

Ayame jumped and squealed and her father laughed with joy while making ramen for the new couple. A shocked Naruto could do nothing but sit and stare at her, not hearing the noise from all around him. "Well what are you wanting for? Aren't you going to put it on?" San asked over her shoulder when he didn't do anything. "Forgive him San, I think Naruto-kun is in a state of shock at the moment." Said a new voice that had just walked in. Turning her head San saw both the Hokage and Iruka walking in with Iruka video tapping the entire event. Placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, the Hokage woke Naruto up from his unmovable state.

Snapping out of his shocked state Naruto snapped the necklace in place and gave San a kiss on the cheek. All around them were flashes of light and they turn their heads to see Ayame taking pictures. San and Naruto looked at each other with blushes on their faces before turning to greet Iruka and the Hokage. "Naruto-kun I actually have something for you too." San said after a moment. Naruto watched as San took out a small box and handed it to him.

Opening the lid of the box, Naruto gasped at what he saw in it. Inside was a pair of rings that were made out of the same crystals inside their base. The rings were a silver metal with the crystal stone set on top of it that seemed to glow. "There is one for each of us. When we grow the rings grow with us so we can always wear them." San explained as she took one out, "I will get this one and you will get that one."

"The crystal on my ring has your chakra in it, while the crystal that you have has my chakra in it. That way we will always be together no matter what." Naruto took out his ring and put it on his wedding ring finger. "This is the best gift anyone's ever given me thanks San-chan." Naruto said in rare happy voice. He looked back up at her and with a determine look he leaned forward. Naruto placed a quick kiss on her lips and leaned back as fast as he could, but not so fast for Ayame to take another picture.

San was smiling while Naruto was glowing red like a Christmas light unable to look at anybody for the moment. Naruto had never felt so embarrassed in his life and to make it worse not only did Ayame get a picture but Iruka was video taping everything. When a small hand grasped his Naruto looked up to see San's smiling face and he couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

AN: I'm so sorry that I took so long to write this. Even though I wanted to put more on this chapter I decided not to since it has been to long since I have updated. Please review and tell me what you think! I will try to update as soon as I can. 


	5. Good News

Okay everybody! I know you must be super mad at me for not updating what has been like forever but I have some good news to tell you! I am finally going to be able to have a break for at least two weeks during which time I will be focusing on writing the next chapter for this story. If anybody as any ideas for the story please feel free to review them to me. I cannot promise that I will be able to use them but I will look at them and tell you my opinion, who knows they might inspire me to write another story.

Also I will be deleting all of my sorry notices chapters except for one cause I know you hate them as much as me and if I get no reviews for this notice I will be deleting it too and replacing it with the next chapter. Thank you for taking your time and attention to read my story it means the world to me and let us send our prayers to the friends and families of the students and teachers of Virginia Tech that were unable to stay with us, Our hearts and prayers are with you.

Thanks again,

StoryJunky


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